The 16th of March 2013, a day most Irish rugby fans have wiped from their memory as they finished their Six Nations championship in fifth place but exactly six years on and things couldn’t be any more different.
That poor finish was the final straw of Declan Kidney’s coaching reign of the national team. Things looked bleak, a loss to Italy was the lowest point of the tournament, change was needed, and that’s where Joe Schmidt came in.
Following a successful spell in charge of Leinster, during which he won two Heineken Cups, Schmidt decided to test the waters at international level.
There was a sense that something big could happen, but it’s a sense that Ireland felt after winning the 2009 Grand Slam, only to fall from grace and slump to fifth within four years.
When Schmidt took charge of his first Six Nations championship there was optimism but winning the tournament first time was above all expectations. The only loss that year was away to England in a 13-10 defeat.
A year later and it was a tournament nobody could forget, with Wales, England, France and Ireland all in with a chance of winning on the final weekend.
A thumping Welsh win meant Ireland needed to defeat Scotland by 21 points or more, they won 40-10.
That left England needing a 27-point victory or more over the French to claim the title. A 55-35 cracker of a game handed Ireland back to back Six Nations.
However, the defeat they faced that year came away to this Saturday’s opponents Wales.
In 2016 Ireland finished in third, while in 2017 a second-placed finish included ending England’s 18-game unbeaten run, but again there was a loss to the Welsh in Cardiff.
Last year, Ireland stormed to a Grand Slam, crushing everything in front of them. Leading to a No 2 ranking in the World Rugby standings.
This year has been a different story for the Kiwi and his troops with an opening day demolishing at the hands of England followed by scrappy wins over Scotland and Italy.
On Sunday, Ireland produced one of their best performances of the Schmidt era as they dominated France, keeping them scoreless until the final three minutes.
That win has kept Ireland’s slim hopes of retaining their title alive, albeit needing a win over Wales and a favour from a depleted Scotland against a rampant England.
Another championship would look amazing on Schmidt’s CV, but he has done that before, what he hasn’t done is win a match against the Welsh on their home turf.
This will be his third and final attempt to claim victory in Cardiff. A feat that would complete his CV and he is well aware of it.
“Yeah, it would be nice to tick it off,” he said when asked about the possibility of a win over the men in red.
Under Schmidt Ireland have developed into
one of the best, if not the best team in the world, he has kept them in
touching distance of the Six Nations in each of his campaigns.
It’s remarkable to consider.
He has been the man at the wheel behind
every new record for the Irish in recent years and will go down as possibly the
greatest Irish coach ever and will have hopes for more records at the World Cup
later this year.
However, as he prepares to say goodbye to
the Six Nations, exactly six years on from Ireland’s fifth-place finish, it
would be fitting for Schmidt to leave Cardiff with the full-house of wins and
who knows maybe even a fourth championship title to conclude the fairy-tale.
